Richard Gere is dating Padma Lakshmi

The 64-year-old actor, who split from his wife Carey Lowell, 52, in September after 11 years of marriage, recently began romancing the 'Top Chef' host.

A source told the New York Post's Page Six: "They have been quietly spending some time together. It is all very new and recent, and happened while he has been filming in New York."

Another insider told UsMagazine.com: "It started very recently and quietly. It's very new. I wouldn't even go as far as calling them a couple. They are dating. It's the first time Padma has dated anyone since Teddy [Forstmann], and it's something she's been approaching very, very delicately. They're just getting to know each other. They're just having fun."

Richard, who has a son Homer, 14, with Carey, is currently filming 'Time Out of Mind' in the city, a drama about a man who enters a shelter when he runs out of housing options and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Former model Padma, 43, was previously married to author Salman Rushdie for three years until 2007 and dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann until he died of brain cancer in 2011 at the age of 71.